NEW ORLEANS-The wireless industry should expect the Federal Communications Commission
to better understand the differences between the wireless and common carrier industries, said Tom Sugrue, chief of the
FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, in his maiden voyage before the wireless industry.
There has long
been a perceived conflict between the wireless industry and the FCC’s Common Carrier Bureau. Even Sugrue’s
appointment in December led some in the wireless industry to wonder whether he understood wireless. He does, he
said, but, he and his team of Jim Schlichting and Dianne Cornell understand common carrier issues, too.
Sugrue’s
comments were echoed by Anna Gomez, chief of the network services division of the Common Carrier Bureau, last
week at a Wireless ’99 panel devoted to public policy. Gomez said the two bureaus are cooperating and an effort was
being made to understand when the wireless industry had different needs than other common carriers.
